A daily selection from 150 years ago today in the "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion".

Saturday, November 24, 2012

November 25, 1862 (Tuesday):No Time Should Be Lost

Union pontoon boats ready for transport

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
November 25, 1862-2.20 a.m. (Received 9.30 a.m.)
Brigadier General G. W. CULLUM, Chief of Staff:
E nough pontoons have arrived to make one bridge, and we hope to have
enough for two by daylight. I have selected two places of crossing,
which I will report by letter. The train that started from Washington by
land had to raft the boats from Occoquan, and send the carriages on
alone, but they have not yet arrived. Had they started even on the 16th,
they would have had good roads, and would have been in time. I felt it
my duty to arrest General Woodbury, and have accordingly done so. We are
at work with preparations for throwing the first bridge over, but it
cannot be done till we get more carriages, which, I hope, will be here
to-day. No time should be lost. The enemy's force is constantly
increasing. Will telegraph more fully soon.

A. E. BURNSIDE,
Major-General, Commanding.

Official Records, Series I., Vol. 21, Part 1, Page 798.

Woodbury had been ordered arrested by Burnside based on the delay in moving material for pontoon bridges to Fredericksburg. The problem appears to have been more of communication than disobedience. On his arrest Woodbury wrote, "General Halleck had directed me at first by telegraph, afterward
verbally, to take bridge material down to Aquia Creek, but no one
informed me that the success of any important movement depended in the
slightest degree upon a pontoon train to leave Washington by land.
Without such instructions, which, I think, should have been made to me, I
had no sufficient grounds to seize teams or teamsters in Washington,
regardless of forms."

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The 150th anniversary of the war has sparked a number of bloggers to build blogs that are reports on this day in the Civil War and (from what I've seen) do it very well. By focusing solely on what is in the Official Records (O.R.) my goal is to give you a look behind the major events at how the actors perceived what was unfolding before them. It is not possible to paint a comprehensive picture, but my hope is these brief posts will motivate readers to go off exploring on their own to fill in the blanks.

In addition to reports on major battles, there will occasionally be posts dealing with odd characters, misunderstandings, bitterness, and even humorous events. Because at the end of the day, war is an undertaking which exposes the best and worst in human nature.